The field of the invention is the production of seafood.
The earliest history of the human race shows us as hunter-gatherers, who took what the land produced for our own purposes. These hunter-gatherers were part of the natural scene rather than changing the natural scene for their own purposes. About 7,000 to 8,000 years ago in the Middle East, this changed with the domestication of wild animals, such as the cow, pig, goat, sheep and dog. At that point, our ancestors began herding domestic animals to the best pastures with changing seasons and conditions. Our ancestors continued to hunt and gather food, but found herding more productive. This trend continued with the domestication of the horse in the arid regions of Western Asia.
Then about 5,500 years ago, a new invention swept the then-civilized world. This invention was the mold-board plow, which increased the productivity of a farmer by about a factor of seven. It also changed the way we looked at the land, from passive acceptance to active intervention. This change resulted in the planting of favorite crops, rather than accepting what had always grown there. Our ancestors also began to add water and nutrients to the soil, to further increase productivity.
These transitions were not always smooth or without controversy. For many years, there was a free range in the Western states of the United States of America. At that time, some argued strongly against fences, roads, houses, farms and railroads. They argued that cities would follow such encroachments on the free range, and they were right.
While such transitions have progressed considerably on the land resulting in an increase in output of about two thousand times, they have hardly begun on the oceans which cover almost three fourths of the earth's surface. A similar return in the increased productivity of the oceans may be achieved by similar changes.
The fishermen and the fisherwomen of the world have known for many years that there is a great variation in the productivity of the different areas of the oceans and other bodies of water. Recently, the extent of this variation has been measured and the reasons for it determined. It is now known that about 60% of all life in the ocean arises from 2% of the ocean surface. Thus, the ocean may be considered as a vast barren desert with only a few verdant zones where life abounds. These verdant zones are easy to spot. For most of the ocean surface, you can see about 150 to 300 feet (about 46 to 91 meters) through the water, as you can see in the Gulf Stream. In contrast, you can see only a few feet through the water in the productive zones of the oceans because the living matter in the water is so dense. This is the case in the natural upwelling off the coast of Peru.
Samples have been taken from these productive zones, and from other areas of the ocean. The difference has been determined. The productive zones of the ocean are rich in iron, phosphorus, nitrogen and trace minerals, while the rest of the ocean is missing one or more of these elements. These fertilizing minerals are required in order to obtain the maximum production of seafood from a given area in the ocean. There is considerable variance in the nutrients present in different zones of the ocean surface, and samples must be taken and analyzed in order to ascertain the exact level of nutrients required to obtain the productivity of the Peruvian upwelling.
The oceans differ from the land in several regards: (1) there is never a drought in the oceans; (2) the oceans move; and (3) the oceans mix both vertically and horizontally. The first difference means that the oceans need only minor constituents in order to achieve improved productivity. The second difference means that the fertilization may be carried out at a location that is quite distant from the location where the harvesting of seafood is carried out. The third difference means that the fertilization must be carried out on a large scale, or the results of the fertilization may be impossible to find.
Methods of increasing seafood production in the ocean are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,433,173 and 5,535,701, which are hereby incorporated by reference.